World Cup returns to U.S., and Houston may be in play
Canada and Mexico join as host nations, making the 2026 event a first-ever affair
Cobi Jones doesn’t recall what he was doing as an 18year-old on July 4, 1988, the day it was announced the United States would host the 1994 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.
But Jones will never forget the thrill of walking into Stanford Stadium on July 4, 1994, wearing his country’s colors as a member of the U.S. team, playing against eventual champion Brazil in the first World Cup held on U.S. soil.
In 2026, a new generation of U.S. soccer players will have a chance to stand in Jones’ shoes.
Along with Canada and Mexico, the United States was selected Wednesday by FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, to host the 2026 World Cup. It will be the first World Cup played in North America since 1994 and the first to be hosted by more than one nation.
FIFA will select 16 host cities by 2020, and Houston is among 23 candidates. It also could be in the running as a hub for referees and game officials servicing the three-nation bid group.
Wednesday’s announcement came on the eve of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. There will be no team representing the United States, which failed to qualify for the first time since 1986.
Jones, who holds the record for most international games as a U.S. player, is now focused on his job as a World Cup analyst for Fox Sports but said his mind flashes back to the progress that U.S. soccer has taken in the last three decades and steps still to come.
When Jones was a teenager in Southern California in the midto-late 1980s, “Soccer wasn’t even a secondary sport in the United States. It was third- or fourth-level,” he said. “For us to host a World Cup (in 1994) was a shock to me.
“It has taken a lot of little steps by many people and many groups and many organizations to get to the point that we can confidently go into a bid with two other countries and pick up a second World Cup in the U.S.”
The North American bid was approved on a 134-65 vote over Morocco by delegates to the FIFA Congress meeting in Moscow. Current plans call for the U.S. to host 60 of 80 games to be played in the first 48-nation World Cup, with 10 games each to be played in Canada and Mexico.
“I would say about 10 days ago we had a sense this was breaking our way,” Carlos Cordeiro, president of U.S. Soccer, said after the vote. “… We’re very, very pleased in the end with the result and are delighted that it was quite the result it was.”
President Donald Trump tweeted: “Congratulations, — a great deal of hard work!”
No new stadium
Unlike recent World Cup and Olympic host countries, no new stadium construction will be required, and bid organizers anticipate that revenue could top $14 billion. Still to be determined are such issues as whether all three host nations will receive automatic World Cup bids, as has been the case for host nations in the past.
In Houston, officials with the Harris County Houston Sports Authority and Houston Dynamo rallied to celebrate the vote and look forward to the possibility that NRG Stadium could be a preliminary round host city.
“We were contacted by U.S. Soccer so that they could pitch us as a possible site for officials and referees,” Janis Burke, the sports authority’s CEO, said in an email. “That’s a really good sign.
“We feel strongly that Houston will be a site to host five to six matches over a 30-day period due to our great success in hosting other marquee soccer events.”
Semifinals are projected to be in Atlanta and at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and the final match is expected to be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Houston has hosted several international matches since 2003, including the Gold Cup and Copa America events, and since 2006 has boasted the Dynamo as a part of Major League Soccer, which was established in the wake of the 1994 World Cup and now includes 23 franchises.
“We’ve cemented this city as a great soccer market, and as we move forward we look to secure Houston as a bid city for 2026,” said Dynamo president Chris Canetti. “We’ve got a lot to stand on.”
Win-win situation
Mayor Sylvester Turner said a World Cup host slot would surpass Houston’s two recent Super Bowls in terms of attention and financial impact.
“As long as Houston is in the conversation, we win, because you can’t talk about football and 2026 without talking about Houston and its diversity,” Turner said.
Attorney Irwin Raij, co-chair of the sports industry group at the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers and a minority owner in the MLS team Los Angeles FC, said the 2026 World Cup gives U.S. soccer “a narrative around which it can build.”
“It’s an inspirational moment,” Raij said. “We tried to host (in 2018 and 2022) but didn’t make it, and our team didn’t make it into the field this year. But now we have a story to tell that will be tremendous for youth soccer and for amateur and professional soccer.”
The Dynamo operates a youth academy that has produced such players as midfielder Marcelo Palomino, a member of U.S. Soccer’s under-18 national team, and reflects the investment that the federation and MLS is making in the sport’s future.
“Even European teams want to build academies in the U.S. to find and develop and grow talent,” Raij said. “We are moving in a positive direction to reach athletes at an early age.”
Jones, 47, said Wednesday’s announcement means the clock is ticking for hundreds of players who could have a realistic goal of competing for a slot on the national team for 2026.
“I want to see players, young men, dedicate themselves to the potential of not only the 2022 World Cup but for 2026,” he said. “Some may be on the national team now. Some will be in the next generation. There may be a chance for someone who is 9 or 10 years old now to be on the team.”
For any player of any age, Jones said, “To have a chance to play in your country for your country is special.”